The EcoCenter at Heron's Head Park is a landmark environmental education center in San Francisco dedicated to environmental justice and teaching about sustainability in the built environment. The center features: an off-grid solar array, an on-site wastewater treatment system with a constructed wetland; 15K gallons of rainwater storage; vegetative roof; reused and recycled building materials, and an array of sustainable landscape and land management solutions.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

At least 60 students, parents, and teachers of the Julia Morgan School for Girls in Oakland participated in a restoration program, a tour of the EcoCenter, and lunch at Heron's Head Park. One of the honored guests and participants was none other than the Port of San Francisco's Carol Bach. It is largely because of Carol that Heron's Head Park even exists. She finally just a chance to relax today and partake in events that she has supported for years! It was an honor for all of us to play a role today and to work with our amazing partners at Rec and Park and City College of San Francisco.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Taking advantage of unusually warm winter weather, former LEJ EcoCenter Program Manager and lifelongBayview resident Tracy Zhu led a group of bicyclists on a Saturday tour of the neighborhood. About twenty people, perhaps half of whom are current CCSF students, joined the ride with the goal of learning a bit about the cultural and industrial history of the area.

The group gathered at the Eco Center at Heron's Head Park for a 360-degree orientation of the development centered around India Basin and Hunter's Point. The group began by sharing their own preconceptions about theneighborhood. Generally, people expressed impressions of a 'ghetto', an environmentally neglected area or pleasant surprise at the sunny, lively neighborhood they found on the ground compared to what they'd heard.

Prospecting back through history, Tracy spoke about the Ohlone who inhabited the shores of the Bay; the role of the military and its associated heavy industry and mass, low-cost housing; and about the aggregation of industry that persists solely in this part of the City to this day. After taking in the distant ruins of the abandoned naval shipyard, the substation remains of the demolished PG&E power plant and the mountainous debris piles at the Recology pier, the riders set off westward on Cargo Way. Our attention was directed to the abandoned grain silos on Pier 92, a repository for graffiti considered by some to be an eyesore, but soon to be home for a City-sponsored art project<http://www.sfartscommission.org/pubartcollection/public-meetings/2012/12/20/proposals-for-a-new-public-artwork-at-pier-92/>. Any wealthy city is bound to have contrasts, and adjacent to the north ofthe silos is the warehouse home of the Oracle America's Cup sailing team - expected to spend in excess of $150 million in pursuit of victory. By contrast, the art grant for Pier 92 is for $190 thousand.

The two sites are separated by the vestigial inlet that was once the outflow of Islais Creek. The group stopped at a small park on the south bank called Islais Landing. There, the City placed within a narrow green space, a few picnic tables and a ramp to a landing used for fishing or boating. Tracy noted that Islais Creek originally drained a watershed that begins several miles west and south beyond the southern border with Daly City. Now the only part of the watershed that is above ground is in Glen Canyon park. She went on to tell the group that Islais Landing sits in an area that was home to the City's slaughterhouses <http://foundsf.org/index.php title=Butchertown%27s_Beginnings>in the late 19th Century. The outflow into the Bay was said to run red withanimal blood and the streets were populated by roving packs of scavenging dogs<http://www.sfnewdevelopments.com/10301/the-history-of-the-central-waterfront-dogpatch/>.

Next stop was a street-side view of the Southeast Wastewater Treatment Plant -- long-time repository of San Francisco sewage. Fortunately, the wind blew at a cross direction so sight and sound dictated the limits ofthe description. Woe to residents downwind.

From here the group headed a few blocks south to the wholesale produce district. Eerily quiet on a weekend, the warehouses host a hive of commerce and transport in the early morning hours each weekday. The trade in freshproduce stands in contrast to the dearth of full-service supermarkets in the area. Apart from two marginal grocery stores and a couple small 'bodegas', the large extent of retail food sales in Bayview-Hunter's Pointconsists shops selling only processed foods. Tracy said that her mother rides a bus an hour in each direction to China Town to buy food for her family.

To finish on an upbeat note, the group stopped first at the materials re-purposing and do-it-yourself Mecca, Scrap <http://www.scrap-sf.org/>. Most riders seemed unfamiliar with this pocket of creativity and walked outbubbling with ideas. A few blocks further south and east we rode up the cul-de-sac of Quesada Gardens <http://quesadagardensblog.blogspot.com/>, home to one of the City's most successful re-claimed green spaces. We listened to two of the core organizers talk about the many benefits the community has reaped from working together to make something not only beautiful and natural, but also self-directed. A very constructive model ina neighborhood typically overlooked when money is spent on quality of life amenities.Story and photos by CCSF Sustainability 91 Student, Darin GreyerbiehlCheck out this slideshow of the tour

Saturday, March 2, 2013

The final plantings of the manzanita demonstration garden was completed by CCSF students with the guidance of our partners Bay Natives. This ambitious and beautiful project was conceived and designed by Geoff Coffey and Paul Furman from Bay Native's working together with LEJ's Patrick Rump. Paul began the plantings on New Years Day 2013 with Bay Native interns and in the following weeks public school visitors along with CCSF students enrolled in Sust 91 at the EcoCenter put in the last plants. Manzanita, which is Spanish for little apple, is the common name for the genus Arctostaphylos. Many species of manzanita are found in California and range in form from low ground covers to large tree-like shrubs. Their distinctive reddish or mahogany colored bark and their silver to green foliage makes them easy to identify. These drought tolerant plants are easy to grow in San Francisco gardens and they are great plants for wildlife. Their small bell shaped flowers attract hummingbirds and provide nectar for butterflies and other native insects. Be careful not to over water though especially during summer. Manzanita also do not like fertilizer. Come take a walk along the path through the garden look and read about the many species and cultivars represented. Then don't be shy to walk over to Bay Natives and see about taking some of these beautiful and important California natives home to your garden!